Three day festival near Stowmarket returns once more

Steve Barton

Action Medical Research’s Gig in the Garden returns next week for the fourth year at Wicks Farm, Mendlesham, near Stowmarket, from July 8-10.

The UK Beach Boys will be headlining on Saturday night, with Polly Money, The Abstracts, Busking for Breakfast, David J Harvey, Tim Lee, J.S and the Lockerbilles, The Staycations and Chasin Vegas also performing during the weekend.

Festival favourites Underline the Sky are returning by popular demand for the third year along with local singer-songwriter Amy Hicks, Renegade Twelve and Elephant in the Room to help raise money for the children’s charity to fund vital research for sick and disabled babies and children.

For 2016, Friday night will be a relaxed Spanish evening with supper and Spanish guitar music from Sonrisa followed by a talk by Charlie Haylock on spoken Suffolk.

“We’re really looking forward to our fourth Gig in the Garden, which is sponsored once again by Rudlings Wakelam Solicitors, being an even bigger success than previous years,” says Lucy Hynes, Action Medical Research’s Community Fundraising Manager for the region.

“There are so many brilliant bands and musicians on the bill: some of them are the cream of the homegrown talent in the area while others are travelling from far and wide to help us raise funds to fund vital research for sick and disabled babies and children.”

Action Medical Research is a UK-wide children’s charity which funds desperately needed research to tackle the diseases that devastate the lives of so many of our children. It has been funding medical breakthroughs since it began in 1952 including helping to introduce the first polio vaccines in the UK, developing the use of ultrasound in pregnancy and testing the rubella vaccine.

The children’s charity is currently funding research into meningitis, Down syndrome, epilepsy and premature birth, as well as some rare and distressing conditions that severely affect children.

Pimm’s, champagne and beer tents will be available at Gig in the Garden, with delicious food stalls serving pancakes, pizzas, Malaysian food and hog roast, and on Sunday morning caterers will provide the Big Campers’ Breakfast.

There will be plenty of children’s activities throughout the weekend, making it the perfect family festival.

The main event kicks off at 12.30pm on Saturday and lasts until 10.30pm, and on Sunday doors open at 11am with the fun winding down at 6pm.

Day tickets start at £12.50 and for the weekend they are just £25 for individuals and £65 for a family of four; tickets for the Spanish Supper are £30 for adults. Under-16 tickets are available at discounted prices and under-threes go free.